This document discusses 9 macro trends that will shape businesses in the future: 1) Increasing transparency as customers demand more accountability and ethics from businesses, 2) Emerging markets like BRIC presenting new opportunities, 3) Rethinking energy to utilize more renewable and clean sources, 4) Transitioning to a circular economy that recycles materials, 5) Utilization of smart technologies like 3D printing, drones, and robotics, 6) Moving from traditional ownership models to pay-per-use models, 7) Growth of online business and e-commerce, 8) Leveraging big data through advanced analytics, 9) Mass customization of goods and services tailored to individual customers.

1. 1
Macro trends 2014
The Bridge business innovators
Auteur: Tom Gouman

2. 2
RETHINKING
ENERGY
ONLINE
BUSINESS
INCREASING
TRANSPARANCY
EMERGING
MARKETS
SMART
TECHNOLOGY
MASS
CUSTOMIZATION
NO MORE
OWNERSHIP
CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
BIG
DATA
9 TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE THE
FUTURE OF YOUR BUSINESS

3. 3
INCREASING TRANSPARANCY
T r a n s p a r e n c y i m p l i e s
openness, communication,
a n d a c c o u n t a b i l i t y .
B u s i n e s s e s a n d
Governments must have an
attractive ethical dimension
and practice a ‘genuine caring
attitude’. Tomorrow’s citizens
want fair trade and traceability, he
w a n t s m o r e m e a n i n g .
McDonald’s Australia
Taking the initiative to proactively address
customer questions, McDonald’s opened the
door to dialogue with consumers about its
menu items and ingredients, featuring an
“Our Food. Your Questions.” page

4. 4
EMERGING MARKETS (BRIC)
Asia and other new
economies have become
major players that will
define future business,
science and leadership
agendas. These new
Superpowers are
presenting both a wealth
of new challenges and
o p p o r t u n i t i e s .
GE developed a low-cost handheld heart
scanner for the Indian market, which ultimately
also went on sale in the US.

5. 5
RETHINKING ENERGY
The reality of Global warming has
caused us to rethink energy. With
better use of renewable and
cl ean energ y, e n e r g y
management connects resource
conservation, climate protection
and cost savings while users
have permanent access to energy
they need and bring back energy
t o t h e n e t .
Vandebron.nl is the first online platform where
you can buy renewable energy directly from the
source. Customers know where they pay for and
where their energy comes from. As a customer
you are free to choose your own energy source,
such as wind-, water-, bio- or solar energy.

6. 6
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
A restorative economy
where materials and nutrients,
after being used, either flow
back to the biosphere safely or
a r e r e c y c l e d f o r new
applications (not entering
t h e b i o s p h e r e a t a l l ) .
Starbucks is aiming to turn thousands of
tons of its waste coffee grounds and food
into everyday products by using bacteria to
generate succinic acid which can then be
used in a range of products from detergents
to bio-plastics and medicines.

7. 7
SMART TECHNOLOGY
One of the greatest benefits of
digital technology has been
the empowerment of individuals.
Technology is faster, better
s m a r t e r , a n d , i n t h i s
accelerated, borderless, wireless
world, we are making instant
choices about who we are, what
we do, and what we want. This
includes 3D printing, mobile,
a d v a n c e d r o b o t i c s e t c .
Amazon is testing unmanned drones to
deliver goods to customers. The drones,
called Octocopters, could deliver packages
weighing up to 2.3kg to customers within
30 minutes of them placing the order

8. 8
FROM OWNERSHIP TO USE
Buying and owning products is
s o m e t h i n g o f t h e p a s t .
Consumers and business turn
to business models where they
pay for the use
of a product instead of owning
t h e p r o d u c t .
Cars generally aren't used much. They sit in
parking lots burning their owner's money.
By facilitating peer to peer car rental
SnappCar offers a way to make mobility
far more efficient.

9. 9
ONLINE BUSINESS
Online or E-business is the
application of information and
communication technologies
(ICT) in support of all the
activities of business. The
i m p o r t a n c e o f o n l i n e
marketing and selling your
products through online channels
i s i n c r e a s i n g .
Quirky enables individual product
developers to co-develop, manufacture and
market their products. Quirky profits from
selling these products in an online shop.
Designers share in the revenues.

10. 10
BIG DATA
Big data is the term for a
collection of data sets so
large and complex that it
becomes difficult to process
u s i n g o n - h a n d d a t a b a s e
management tools or traditional
data processing applications.
The challenges include capture,
curation, storage, search,
sharing, transfer, analysis,
a n d v i s u a l i z a t i o n
Instead of hand-crafting a new design for a
disposable diaper, Procter & Gamble
uses modeling and simulation to create
thousands of iterations in seconds in order
to find the best design for a disposable
diaper.

11. 11
MASS CUSTOMIZATION
Delivering wide-market goods
and services that are modified to
s a t i s f y a s p e c i f i c
customer’s need. Mass
customization is a marketing and
manufacturing technique that
combines the flexibility and
personalization of "custom-
made" with the low unit costs
associated with mass production
Individual design defines the Opel ADAM.
There is no other car in this class in the
world that can offer more than 61,000
variants for the exterior and nearly 82,000
for the interior. The Opel Adam was
rewarded with a ‘red dot design award’